AFA's Next Mitchell Hour Discusses Saudi Arabia

Book signing from award-winning author to follow presentation

ARLINGTON, Va., May 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Air Force Association's Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies welcomes Thomas W. Lippman, award-winning author and journalist, as the guest speaker for an upcoming Mitchell Hour. Lippman, who currently serves as an adjunct scholar at the Middle East Institute, will discuss Saudi Arabia and its relationship to the Arab Spring.

This Mitchell event will take place on Monday, June 4, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., at AFA's national headquarters at 1501 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA, next to the Key Bridge Marriott. The presentation will be in AFA's fourth floor boardroom.

For more than 30 years, Lippman has written about Middle Eastern affairs and American foreign policy, specializing in Saudi Arabian affairs, U.S.- Saudi relations, and relations between the West and Islam. He is a former Middle East bureau chief of the Washington Post, and was previously a writer, editor and diplomatic correspondent for the Post, covering the Vietnam War, reporting on foreign policy and national security throughout the 1990s, and being the principal writer on the war in Iraq for Washingtonpost.com in 2003.

Lippman is the author of numerous magazine articles, book reviews and op-ed columns about Mideast affairs, including Understanding Islam (1982, 3d revised edition 2002); Inside the Mirage: America's Fragile Partnership with Saudi Arabia (2004); and Arabian Knight: Col. Bill Eddy USMC and the Rise of American Power in the Middle East (2008), which won a Benjamin Franklin Award from the Independent Book Publishers Association as best biography of 2008.

He is also a consultant on regional affairs to US government agencies, including the Air Force Special Operations Command.

Following his presentation, he will be signing his most recent book, Saudi Arabia on the Edge: The Uncertain Future of an American Ally (2011). Books can either be purchased in advance when you register for the event (with credit card) or onsite (with cash or check) for $20.

The Mitchell Institute for Airpower Studies is an independent, non-profit research, studies, and analysis organization founded by the Air Force Association. It takes its name from America's most famous and arguably greatest airman, Brig. Gen. William Mitchell. The Institute seeks to carry on, in the modern day, General Mitchell's tireless and dedicated effort to expand airpower thinking and increase public awareness of the need for this unique military instrument. For more information, visit http://www.afa.org/Mitchell/.

The Air Force Association is a non-profit, independent, professional military and aerospace education association. Our mission is to promote a dominant United States Air Force and a strong national defense, and to honor Airmen and our Air Force Heritage. To accomplish this, we:

EDUCATE the public on the critical need for unmatched aerospace power and a technically superior workforce to ensure U.S. national security.

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AFA has 200 chapters nationally and internationally representing more than 108,000 members. Visit AFA on the internet at www.afa.org.